IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: Leadership training for women
22 Sep-04


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KABUL, 22 September (IRIN) - Female civil servants and qualified Afghan 
women will be trained in leadership and decision-making skills through a 
joint UN-government programme.

Under Senior Women in Management (SWIM), a US $100,000, six-month training 
course was launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and 
the Afghan Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Finance, 
and Women's Affairs on Monday.

According to officials at the Ministry of Women's Affairs, 19 women from 
various government ministries have already commenced their training.

The objective of SWIM is to increase the participation of women in 
decision-making roles in government by identifying qualified women to work 
at senior levels in selected ministries.

"This programme will be around six months, consisting of on-the-job and 
formal training in management, computing, language and specialised 
skills," Rahima Hafizi, head of contracting at the Ministry of Rural 
Rehabilitation and Development, and one of the participants, told IRIN.

There are few women in leadership position as ministers, heads of civil 
service departments or NGOs. The country has a very low rate of literacy 
among women and there is a long way to go to ensure gender equality in 
leadership and senior managerial positions.

Afghan women were confined to their homes during the six years of the 
hardline Taliban regime. They were denied access to public resources and 
prevented from contributing to society.

"Women have always been ignored and always told what to do. Now that we 
have the opportunity we must bring women into decision-making positions," 
Habiba Sarabi, women's affairs minister, told IRIN.

Sarabi said the need for women managers and decision-makers in government 
was growing. She said having a woman as a decision-maker was still 
difficult to accept in communities mostly influenced by warlords and local 
militia commanders.

In some conservative rural communities, systematic discrimination against 
women has undermined their ability to work in any kind of jobs, let alone 
in positions of influence. Due to cultural complexities and often 
security, women are still discouraged from working outside their homes.

"For example, in Zabul [southern province] we do not have one female civil 
servant in the whole province to run the women's affairs department," she 
said.

According to the United Nations, at the end of the SWIM programme, 
candidates are encouraged to apply for longer-term employment within their 
respective ministries. Recruitment is being conducted by UNDP based on 
merit, qualifications and successful performance in examinations. "This 
programme is the first time that we have been approached as professionals 
and potential leaders in training," said Hafizi.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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